‘Congrats to Zoho!’ — Aravind Srinivas on Arattai’s leap from 3K to 350K sign-up

Aravind Srinivas, the CEO of Perplexity AI, has expressed his admiration for Zoho Corporation's impressive achievement with its messaging app, Arattai. The platform has experienced a remarkable surge in daily registrations, skyrocketing from 3,000 to an astonishing 350,000 in just three days. This explosive growth positions Arattai as a formidable competitor to WhatsApp in the Indian market. Sridhar Vembu, Zoho's Chief Scientist and co-founder, shared insights into the company's rapid response to this unprecedented demand. He revealed that the team is working tirelessly to enhance the app's infrastructure and address technical challenges arising from the sudden influx of users. "We are adding infrastructure on an emergency basis for another potential 100x peak surge. That is how exponentials work," Vembu noted on X. This surge in popularity comes well ahead of the anticipated rollout of new features and marketing strategies planned for November. The name 'Arattai,' which translates to "casual chat" in Tamil, embodies the app's goal of facilitating simple, everyday communication. It offers a familiar user experience with features such as text, image, video, and document sharing, along with voice and video calls, and stories. Additionally, businesses can leverage channels to engage their audiences, expanding the app's usability beyond personal conversations. Privacy is a cornerstone of Arattai's design, with end-to-end encrypted calls ensuring that user conversations remain confidential. The app's rapid ascent has not only captured the attention of tech enthusiasts but also political figures. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has encouraged citizens to explore the app, labeling it as "free, easy-to-use, secure, and safe," while linking his endorsement to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for indigenous innovation. With robust privacy features, swift user adoption, and strong governmental support, Arattai is quickly establishing itself as a serious alternative to global messaging giants. This growth trajectory signals that India may soon have its own competitive answer to WhatsApp.